marathon
mar·a·thon/ˈmæɹəˌθɑn/noun, verb
marathon is spelled M-A-R-A-T-H-O-N: 8 letters and 3 syllables (mar·a·thon). It appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,496th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, marathon means “A 42.195-kilometre (26-mile-385-yard) road race” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of marathon is marathons.
How many letters and syllables are in marathon?
| Letters | 8: M-A-R-A-T-H-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: mar·a·thon |
| In writing | 14 times per million words; the 5,496th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is marathon?
Marathon appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,496th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce marathon?
- UK /ˈmæɹəθən/
- US /ˈmæɹəˌθɑn/
- US /ˈmɛɹəˌθɑn/
Marathon has 3 syllables, split mar·a·thon in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-marathon.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of marathon
- marathons plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- marathoning participle, present
- marathoned participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does marathon mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A 42.195-kilometre (26-mile-385-yard) road race.
- 2
Any extended or sustained activity.
He had a cleaning marathon the night before his girlfriend came over.
verb
- 1
To run a marathon.
- 2
informalTo watch or read a large number of instalments of (a film, book, TV series, etc.) in one sitting.
We're going to marathon Star Trek next weekend.
noun
- 1
Former name of Snickers (“chocolate bar brand”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Marathon in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense road race:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does marathon come from?
From French marathon, coined in 1894 by linguist Michel Bréal for the first modern time Olympic Games after Ancient Greek Μαραθών (Marathṓn), a town northeast of Athens. Phidippides the Greek ran the distance from Marathon to Athens to deliver a message regarding the Battle of Marathon. The modern sport of marathon running is based on a run approximately the same distance.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).